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Sunday, July 31, 2016

"I Want To Follow These Characters For Forever"

So many times when I love a book or a series or characters I will think "GAH I just want to follow their whole lives. WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO END..CAN'T I JUST HAVE THEIR WHOLE LIFE STORY?" But then what happens when you kind of sort of get that chance?

Most of you probably know that the Harry Potter & the Cursed Child script came out this weekend. I feel like many of my bookish friends and Harry Potter loving people have been split on whether or not they want to read it or if they even accept it.

On one hand people are like, YAY DIVING BACK INTO THIS WORLD. THESE CHARACTERS. AHHH. AFTER ALL THESE YEARS I WANT TO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE/MEET THE NEW GENERATION. And then on the other hand, I know a lot of people who just feel conflicted about Harry Potter canon and this story that really isn't actually a book 8. What if it screws up the feeling of how the series wrapped up? Is reading a script going to capture what the play is?

I feel like I totally understand both lines of thinking. Reuniting with beloved characters and a world you love is amazing but it's also a little scary to also do that. I understand both feelings from passionate fans.

For me, it's a little different. I just finished the series for the first time this year. At 30. You can read my thoughts on reading Harry Potter for the first time at 30 here if you want. I feel like I haven't even had time to dive into the fandom and re-read it and really be in the ~trenches~ of being a Potterhead. I haven't been waiting for new stuff for very long or daydreaming up what they could be doing or what could come next. I'm still on this incredible high from my initial reading of it and I'm just not sure I'm ready to expand my view of this world and these characters. Even though I REALLY just didn't want that series to end, I feel hesitant to pick it up right now. I'm not ruling it out but I'm just personally not feeling like I'm ready for it. It's one of those things where I wish to have this continuation to see my fave characters as adults but then when it's a tangible thing I'm like IDK DO I?? AM I READY??

I will just say....my kingdom for a Marauders prequel though. I feel like THAT I can handle right now. It's still within canon so I feel like my brain could handle it in a way I don't think it's ready to expand on these characters with Cursed Child.

But I don't know...I think I will just be happy for the people who are excited about Cursed Child, be envious of people who get to see the actual production and continue to roll around in the fandom in all of my new Potterhead glee and make my decision about Cursed Child later after hearing what fans think and having some time away from it all.So now...I am REALLY REALLY CURIOUS to know what you guys think. Do you plan to read it? Why or why not? HAVE you read it already and what did you think?? I want to hear all the feelings and thoughts and opinions on this!

12 comments:

I read the series back when I was a teen, and I was ready back then to see what happened with the gang. Today I sit here and I really want to go and purchase the the cursed child, but then I'm not sure because of the way it's written. I'm having a battle with myself here.

Oh to read the series again for the first time... *sigh*... but any who... as to THE CURSED CHILD, I'm afraid I'll with you... be excited for others but I won't be reading it in the foreseeable future. It's the format for me as opposed to the story... I keep my play reading to works of the Bard. Slap this puppy in a novel and I'm there, but til then... ☺

I grew up reading the series (so I was 9 when Harry was 11, etc) and it was something magical. I wrote fan fiction and read it. I read essays about it. I even created a college course independent study about it and wrote essays about it myself. I went to midnight movie premieres (cause I was always at sleepaway camp when the books came out lol)... I loved the series. However when I heard about the new movie and then the new play/screenplay...I was just sort of over it. I feel like she needs to be done. (I feel this way with Cassandra Clare too...) Like, write something new~!!

If it was a new book, I'd definitely already be reading. I'm not super excited about reading a script...and not super curious about what Harry's kids are doing. But I'll probably read it at some point, or see the movie version.

Like others, I'm on the fence. I enjoyed the books but I'm not a super-fan. If it was another book, I would probably already have a copy in my hands, but I'm not that excited about reading a script. A friend has offered to lend me her copy when I see her at the end of the month so I may read it then, but I'm not going to spend my limited book money on my own copy.

I don't know if I will or not. Two reasons. I got bogged down in book 5 and never finished it. I haven't even watched the last two movies. Second I remember the tortuously AWFUL sequels to Gone With the Wind (admittedly, not written by the original author) and the not-so-hot later James Bonds (again, not written by the original author. And then there was my foray into Fan fiction after Julian Fellows destroyed the character of his character Sir Anthony Strallan (I was an Andith Fan big time!) So, I don't know. Friends are reading it as we speak. Probably it will depend what they say for now at least. If they really, really want me to read it, I might jump ahead and do so.

At this point, I have decided not to read Cursed Child. I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I grew up with the books and they have played such a huge role in my life, from attending midnight showings to just spending countless hours reading fanfiction and discussing the books with others. If this were an eighth book written solely by Rowling and with a decent plot, I would definitely be there. But it isn't any of those things, and I don't feel that it is canon at all. As much as I would love to read more about the kids of everyone, I'm just not sure if I want to go into something like this. I'm really excited about the general excitement over Harry Potter and all the nostalgia that is being generated from it, but I'm just not quite on board with this play. And from what I've read of the plot, I have to say I'm not overly impressed... but I'll try to hold off judging. :) I hope others enjoy it, but I guess it's just not for me right now, which is somewhat disappointing, but I've come to accept my decision. I will never stop loving Harry Potter. :)

I was on the fence about whether to read it or not, but I did end up picking up a copy yesterday and read it last night. While it was nice to get to see my characters again, it just didn't have the same kind of magic about it. I was never considering it the 8th HP novel, more as something new, something separate. It was still a really good story and I'm glad I read it (the first two acts honestly gave me all the feels and made me sob), but it's definitely not the same. I'd definitely say it's worth reading, just be prepared for it to have a completely different feel to it :)

You didn't read HP until you were 30?!?!?! Oh, that is sinful ;) Glad you've joined the Potterheads now, though.I'm planning to read the book, but I read the original books many years ago, so I think I've had time to digest, wait around, and wonder what happens to the characters. If I had recently read the HP books, I think I'd be in the same boat you're in, going back and forth on how I feel about reading the new book. So far, I've heard nothing but utter adoration for the Cursed Child book.

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